Love Me, Love Me Not (game show)
Encyclopedia
Love Me, Love Me Not is a Canadian game show based on the hit Italian game show M'ama Non M'ama, which translates in English to "love me, love me not". It originally aired in Canada
in 1986 and debuted later in the United States on the USA Network
on September 29, 1986. Ross Shafer
was the host, and Jane MacDougall was the co-host/announcer, later replaced by Marilyn Smith.
The series was the first game show produced by Blair Murdoch
and was taped at CKVU-TV
in Vancouver
, British Columbia
. Kathy Morse worked on the show as an assistant to the producers, and later became the Mayor
of Maple Ridge
.
On the U.S. version, the limit was expanded to twelve questions. Also, in round two each panelist earned $100 for evading a contestant, plus they could try to capture their opponents' panelists even if all three panelists weren't captured.
If two or more of the panelists were tied, each tied panelist would in turn read the winning contestant a statement. If either one fooled the contestant, that panelist received $100, otherwise the contestant received $100. This continued until the tie was broken or until the game ran out of questions. If so, or the game was already out of questions and two panelists were tied, the one closer to the left gave the first guess to a numerical question and the other had to determine if the correct answer was higher or lower.
If all of the panelists tied, they had ten seconds to write down their best guess to a question with a numerical answer. Whichever panelist won the numerical question gained an extra $100.
The winning contestant and panelist played on a giant daisy with eight petals, numbered clockwise from 1-8. The contestant started at petal #1 and the panelist started on petal #6. The host asked the contestant a series of true/false questions, and the contestant advanced one petal for a correct answer, while the panelist advanced one petal for an incorrect answer. The contestant had to catch up to the panelist in 50 seconds (later 45, then 40 on the U.S. version) or less. If the contestant succeeded, that contestant won a new car (and $700 in early episodes). If time ran out, the panelist won $100 of the contestant's $700 for each petal that separated them (in whichever direction was a greater distance, later the contestant would not receive any money for failing to capture the panelist).
If the panelist caught the contestant because of too many incorrect responses, the game ended and the panelist received $1,400 (later a trip). The panelist returned as the next game's challenger regardless of the outcome. Players remained as contestants until eliminated or winning the bonus round.
on December 7, 1984. Alex Trebek
was the host of these pilots, taped in Los Angeles
.
These pilots had four panelists who wanted to be captured. At the start of the game, one player chose one of eight petals from a daisy, which either read "Love Me" (which allowed that player to start the game) or "Love Me Not" (which meant that the opponent would start). Each petal also had a dollar amount from $50 to $150, which was put in the bank to start the game. A chosen panelist would select the category from a daisy that the player would be most likely to answer, in addition to giving a romantic statement toward the contestant. Every time a panelist was captured, the pot doubled.
After the first round, the players alternated capturing the remaining panelists, but a player who made two mistakes lost a panelist to the opponent. The first contestant to capture three panelists won the game and the money in the pot. That contestant then got to choose which of the three captured panelists with whom to split the money and advance to the bonus round after posing a question to all three, and the other two panelists became contestants on the next game.
The bonus round is the same as before, except that the panelist helps the contestant. If the contestant catches the panelist in 50 seconds or less, the two players split $1,000 for each correct answer given and team up to answer a bonus question for the chance to win a car each.
This series was considered as a replacement for Family Feud
until ABC renewed it.
The bonus round was played the same as on the ABC pilots, with the contestant winning a car if successful and the panelist winning $1,000 for each of the contestant's correct answers. Otherwise, the contestant received $100 for each correct answer.
It was this set of pilots that USA picked up for a series.
, then known as Prime, aired reruns of the series along with other Canadian game shows in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The series currently airs on GameTV, but the network has aired less than half the run, skipping the rest.
in 1988, with Nino Firetto
and Debbie Greenwood
as co-hosts. It was played the same as its North American counterpart, but no money was awarded to the panelists (rather, successfully fooling the contestant earned a "daisy" each time), and the bonus round grand prize was a romantic holiday for both participants.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 1986 and debuted later in the United States on the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
on September 29, 1986. Ross Shafer
Ross Shafer
Ross Shafer is a comedian and television host turned motivational and customer service speaker/trainer, based in Carlsbad, California. Although he now splits time in Nashville, Tennessee, where his wife Leah has an aspiring singing career.-Biography:Shafer graduated from Federal Way High School in...
was the host, and Jane MacDougall was the co-host/announcer, later replaced by Marilyn Smith.
The series was the first game show produced by Blair Murdoch
Blair Murdoch
Blair Murdoch is a television producer during the mid 1980s to the mid 2000s. He independently produced many television series, mainly game shows, for Global Television Network in Canada and for MGM Television in Los Angeles...
and was taped at CKVU-TV
CKVU-TV
CKVU-DT is a television station based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Owned by Rogers Media , it was the second station to become part of the Citytv system in Canada.-History:CKVU's history dates back to 1975, when Western Approaches Ltd...
in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. Kathy Morse worked on the show as an assistant to the producers, and later became the Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Maple Ridge
Maple Ridge, British Columbia
Maple Ridge is a District Municipality in British Columbia, located in the northeastern section of Metro Vancouver. Maple Ridge has a population of approximately 68,949.-History:...
.
Gameplay
Two contestants of the same sex competed against each other, facing a panel of three members of the opposite sex. Each game alternated between men "chasing" women and women chasing men. The two members of the same sex competed to capture the whole panel, who did their best to avoid capture.Round 1
All the panelists started with $100. The champion contestant chose one of the three panelists, who asked a true/false question pertaining to love, sex, relationships, etc. The contestant had to correctly judge the statement in order to capture the panelist, otherwise the panelist received $100. The challenger did the same with one of the remaining panelists, and the champion tried to capture the remaining panelist.Round 2
Starting with the challenger, each player tried to capture one of the uncaptured panelists. In this round, if a contestant failed to capture a panelist, the panelist received $200 (later avoiding a capture was worth $100 and increased to $200 when all three panelists were captured). Once all three players were captured, each player tried to capture one of their opponent's panelists until one player won the game by capturing all three panelists, or the game reached its limit of ten questions (nine if the champion was ahead when all three panelists were first captured). The winner of the game received $1,000 and advanced to the bonus round, the "Chase Around the Daisy." The panelist with the most money also advanced to the bonus round with the contestant. All panelists kept $100 and stayed on for five games or until advancing to the endgame.On the U.S. version, the limit was expanded to twelve questions. Also, in round two each panelist earned $100 for evading a contestant, plus they could try to capture their opponents' panelists even if all three panelists weren't captured.
Tiebreaker
If the contestants were tied with the same number of captures, the hostess read a question with a numerical answer. The champion gave a guess, and the challenger had to correctly determine if the correct answer was higher or lower. If the challenger was correct, he or she won the game, otherwise the champion won.If two or more of the panelists were tied, each tied panelist would in turn read the winning contestant a statement. If either one fooled the contestant, that panelist received $100, otherwise the contestant received $100. This continued until the tie was broken or until the game ran out of questions. If so, or the game was already out of questions and two panelists were tied, the one closer to the left gave the first guess to a numerical question and the other had to determine if the correct answer was higher or lower.
If all of the panelists tied, they had ten seconds to write down their best guess to a question with a numerical answer. Whichever panelist won the numerical question gained an extra $100.
The Chase Around the Daisy
If the panelist caught the contestant because of too many incorrect responses, the game ended and the panelist received $1,400 (later a trip). The panelist returned as the next game's challenger regardless of the outcome. Players remained as contestants until eliminated or winning the bonus round.
Straddling
The show often straddled episodes, meaning that games would stop when time ran out and would be completed on the next episode. Only once, the chase around the daisy would start at the top of the show.1984: M'ama Non M'ama
A pair of pilots (one with men chasing women, the other with women chasing men) were produced by Pasetta Productions for ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
on December 7, 1984. Alex Trebek
Alex Trebek
George Alexander "Alex" Trebek is a Canadian American game show host who has been the host of the game show Jeopardy! since 1984, and prior to that, he hosted game shows such as Pitfall and High Rollers. He has appeared in numerous television series, usually as himself...
was the host of these pilots, taped in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
These pilots had four panelists who wanted to be captured. At the start of the game, one player chose one of eight petals from a daisy, which either read "Love Me" (which allowed that player to start the game) or "Love Me Not" (which meant that the opponent would start). Each petal also had a dollar amount from $50 to $150, which was put in the bank to start the game. A chosen panelist would select the category from a daisy that the player would be most likely to answer, in addition to giving a romantic statement toward the contestant. Every time a panelist was captured, the pot doubled.
After the first round, the players alternated capturing the remaining panelists, but a player who made two mistakes lost a panelist to the opponent. The first contestant to capture three panelists won the game and the money in the pot. That contestant then got to choose which of the three captured panelists with whom to split the money and advance to the bonus round after posing a question to all three, and the other two panelists became contestants on the next game.
The bonus round is the same as before, except that the panelist helps the contestant. If the contestant catches the panelist in 50 seconds or less, the two players split $1,000 for each correct answer given and team up to answer a bonus question for the chance to win a car each.
This series was considered as a replacement for Family Feud
Family Feud
Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
until ABC renewed it.
1985: Love Me, Love Me Not
Steve Carlin produced another pair of pilots on December 20, 1985 in New York with the same title, set, and music used for the series. Ross Shafer was host and Jackson Beck was the announcer. There were four panelists, and the front game rules were the same as the U.S. version, with the first player to capture three panelists winning the game.The bonus round was played the same as on the ABC pilots, with the contestant winning a car if successful and the panelist winning $1,000 for each of the contestant's correct answers. Otherwise, the contestant received $100 for each correct answer.
It was this set of pilots that USA picked up for a series.
Episode status
Love Me, Love Me Not is intact, including all four pilots. The Canadian network TVtropolisTVtropolis
TVtropolis is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Shaw Media and Rogers Media.The channel operates two time shifted feeds: East and West .-Programming:...
, then known as Prime, aired reruns of the series along with other Canadian game shows in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The series currently airs on GameTV, but the network has aired less than half the run, skipping the rest.
UK version
A British version was produced for ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
in 1988, with Nino Firetto
Nino Firetto
Nino Firetto is a radio presenter, TV host and actor, currently based in Exeter, England.-Biography:Nino Firetto shot to fame first as a DJ in the 1970s, then as a television personality in the 1980s...
and Debbie Greenwood
Debbie Greenwood
Debbie Greenwood is a British television presenter and a former beauty queen who won the title of Miss Great Britain in 1984.-Career:...
as co-hosts. It was played the same as its North American counterpart, but no money was awarded to the panelists (rather, successfully fooling the contestant earned a "daisy" each time), and the bonus round grand prize was a romantic holiday for both participants.